History of
Erie County, Pennsylvania 1884

by Samuel P. Bates,

Chapter
XXI - Political History -- Annual Record

1850The first
election for Auditor and Surveyor General was held this year. The
Democratic State ticket consisted of William T. Morrison, of Montgomery,
for Canal Commissioner; Ephraim Banks, of Mifflin, for Auditor General;
and James Porter Brawley, of Crawford, for Surveyor General. The Whig
ticket consisted of Joshua Duncan, of Bucks, for Canal Commissioner; Henry
W. Snyder, of Union, for Auditor General; and Joseph Henderson, of
Washington, for Surveyor General. The Whigs carried the county by an
average majority of 1,460, but were defeated in the State. Mr. Brawley ran
some three thousand votes behind his ticket.

An amendment to the Constitution making Judges elective was submitted to
the people, and 144,578 votes were cast in its favor to 71,092 votes in
opposition. Erie County gave 3,908 votes for the amendment, and only 369
against it.

The Whig candidate for Congress was John H. Walker, of Erie County; the
Democratic, Carlton B. Curtis, of Warren. The following was the vote in
the district:

Walker

Curtis

Erie

3,226

1,636

Clarion

1,193

1,697

Jefferson

519

780

Warren

717

1,117

Potter

360

541

Elk

109

277

McKean

297

454

--------

--------

Total

6,416

6,522

The county tickets, with the vote for each candidate, were as follows:

At this election, the District Attorney and County Surveyor were chosen by
popular vote for the first time. The following were the candidates, with
their vote:
Whig -- District Attorney, Matthew Taylor, Erie, 3,164; Surveyor, David
Wilson, Union, 3,152.

1851The Democratic State ticket consisted of William Bigler, Clearfield,
for Governor, and Seth Clover, Clarion, for Canal Commissioner. The Whigs
renominated Gov. Johnston, and John Strohm, Lancaster, was their candidate
for Canal Commissioner. Erie County gave 3,610 votes for Johnston and
2,106 for Bigler.

The vote of the State was as follows:
Bigler, 186,507; Johnston, 178,070.

The Democratic candidate for Canal Commissioner was elected by about the
same vote. The Native American candidate for Governor was Kimber Cleaver,
Schuylkill, who received 1,713 votes; for Canal Commissioner, David
McDonald, Philadelphia, who received 1,875 -- no votes for either being
cast in Erie County.

The first election of Judges by popular vote took place this year. The
Democratic candidates for the Supreme Court were Jeremiah S. Black,
Somerset; James Campbell, Philadelphia; Ellis Lewis, Lancaster; John B.
Gibson, Cumberland; and Walter H. Lowrie, Allegheny. The Whig candidates
were Richard Coulter, Westmoreland; William M. Meredith, Philadelphia;
George Chambers, Franklin; Joshua W. Comly, Montour; and William Jessup,
Susquehanna. All of the Democratic candidates were elected by considerable
majorities except Mr. Campbell, who was defeated because he was a member
of the Catholic Church. The Native Americans united their force upon
Richard Coulter, who had a majority of 3,199.
In this district the Democratic candidate for Presiding Judge was John
Galbraith, Erie; the Whig, Elijah Babbitt, Erie. Mr. Galbraith's
extraordinary popularity, added to the dissatisfaction over their party
nomination among a portion of the Whigs, enabled him to carry the
district.

The vote was as follows:

Galbraith

Babbitt

Erie

2,573

2,942

Crawford

3,337

2,661

Warren

1,316

1,022

---------

---------

Total

7,226

6,625

The Democrats made no nominations for county officers, but supported
independent candidates. The following were the candidates, with their
vote:

1852The Democratic candidates were: For Canal Commissioner, William
Hopkins, Washington; for Supreme Judge, in place of R. Coulter, who died,
George W. Woodward, Luzerne. The Whig candidates were: For Canal
Commissioner, Jacob Hoffman, Berks; for Supreme Judge, Joseph Buffington,
Armstrong. The Abolitionists and Native Americans also had candidates in
the field. Erie County gave 2,180 votes for Hopkins, 3,257 for Hoffman,
2,165 for Woodward, 3,247 for Buffington, and 212 for the Abolition
ticket. The vote of the State was as follows: Hopkins, 171,548; Hoffman,
151,600; Woodward, 172,610; Buffington, 153,681 -- Hopkins and Woodward
being elected. The Abolition ticket received 3,061 votes, and the Native
American 8,099 in the State.

For Congress, the Whigs nominated Gen. John Dick, of Crawford; the
Democrats, George H. Cutler, of Erie; and the Abolitionists, David A.
Gould, of Erie. The district had been changed since the last election, and
comprised only Erie and Crawford Counties. The following was the vote:

Dick

Cutler

Gould

Erie County

3,253

2,152

321

Crawford
County

2,741

1,905

619

---------

---------

-------

Total

5,994

4,057

940

The Senatorial district was also changed, and consisted of the same
counties as the Congressional. For the ten years preceding, it will be
remembered, Erie was a Senatorial district by herself. The Whigs nominated
James Skinner, of Erie, and the Abolitionists, Charles A. Hammond, of
Crawford. The Democrats made no nomination, and supported David Derrickson,
of Crawford, who ran as an Independent Whig candidate. Below is the vote:

Skinner

Derrickson

Hammond

Erie County

3,271

2,072

271

Crawford
County

2,056

2,687

523

---------

---------

-------

Total

5,327

4,759

794

The Democrats had no nominees for county officers, and supported
Independent Whig candidates. Below is a list of the candidates with their
vote:

The Whig candidate for President was Gen. Winfield Scott, of New Jersey;
for Vice President, William A. Graham, of North Carolina. The elector for
this district was Christian Myers, of Clarion. The Democratic candidate
for President was Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire; for Vice President,
William R. King, of Alabama. J. S. McCalmont, of Venango, was the
candidate for Elector. The Free-Soil Party ran John P. Hale, of New
Hampshire, for President, and G. W. Julian, of Indiana, for Vice
President. Below is the vote of the county:

Scott

Pierce

Hale

Amity

67

69

5

Concord

42

65

61

Conneaut

190

109

56

Edinboro

33

18

6

Elk Creek

131

145

55

Erie, East
Ward

208

240

5

Erie, West
Ward

262

206

9

Fairview

276

70

14

Franklin

50

26

34

Greenfield

84

35

32

Greene

135

141

--

Harbor Creek

236

122

45

Girard
Borough

66

41

1

Girard
Township

306

166

41

McKean

223

91

28

Mill Creek

307

234

13

LeBoeuf

108

111

--

North East
Borough

57

43

4

North East
Township

191

171

21

Springfield

267

79

41

Union

114

82

27

Venango

131

71

10

Wattsburg

25

27

3

Washington

181

95

53

Waterford
Borough

71

62

4

Waterford
Township

204

102

--

Wayne

55

96

53

---------

---------

-------

Total

4,015

2,748

611

The State gave Scott 179,743 votes, Pierce 198,534, and Hale 8,860. Pierce
and King were elected by a large majority of the electoral votes of the
Union. Jacob Broom, the Native American candidate for President, received
11,048 votes in the State, but none in Erie County.

1853The Democratic ticket for State officers was as follows: Supreme
Judge, John C. Knox, Tioga; Canal Commissioner, Thomas H. Forsyth,
Philadelphia; Auditor General, Ephraim Banks, Mifflin; Surveyor General,
J. Porter Brawley, of Crawford. The Whig candidates were: Supreme Judge,
Thomas A. Budd, Philadelphia; Canal Commissioner, Moses Pownal, Lancaster;
Auditor General, Alexander K. McClure, Franklin; Surveyor General,
Christian Myers, Clarion. The Democrats were successful by average
majorities of 35,000, except in the case of Mr. Brawley, who ran some
10,000 votes behind his ticket. In Erie County, the vote for Supreme Judge
was 1,434 for the Democrats, and 2,017 for the Whigs, this being about the
average for all the candidates except Brawley.

1854The Know-Nothing party had risen into sudden importance, and swallowed
up a large portion of the Whig organization, together with some Democrats.
The Whigs and Know-Nothings nominated James Pollock, of Northumberland,
for Governor. The Democrats re-nominated William Bigler for Governor, and
Henry S. Mott, of Pike, for Canal Commissioner. The Whig candidate for the
latter office was George Darsie, of Allegheny, the Know-Nothings making no
nomination. The Democratic candidate for Supreme Judge was Jeremiah S.
Black; the Whig, Daniel M. Smyser, of Montgomery; the Know-Nothing, Thomas
H. Baird, of Washington. Erie County gave Pollock 3,637 votes; Bigler,
2,526; Darsie, 1,885; Mott, 3,364; Black, 2,389; Smyser, 1,494; Baird,
1,694.

Mr. Darsie, the Whig candidate for Canal Commissioner, was of foreign
birth, and the Know-Nothings threw their votes for Mr. Mott, who is
supposed by some to have been a member of the order, but he always denied
the charge. He received the largest majority ever given in the State. The
original Native Americans had separate candidates in the field for
Governor and Canal Commissioner, but they received only a trifling
support.

A ballot was taken at this election to decide whether or not the Maine
Liquor Law should be adopted in this State, and resulted in 158,342 votes
for to 163,510 against. Erie County cast 2,767 for the law, and 1,501
against it.

Gen. John Dick was re-elected to Congress without opposition.

The memorable "railroad war" in our county was in full vigor
this year, and weakened party obligations to a considerable extent. The
following are the tickets with their votes:

This was one of the most curious elections ever held in the county, the
returns being "mixed" in a puzzling manner. All of the Whig
candidates were elected except Warner, who was defeated by Judge Thompson.

1855This year was remarkable for the number of State tickets in the field,
there being no less than six. A re-action had set in against the
Know-Nothings, but desperate efforts were made on their part to retain the
ascendancy. A portion of the Whigs and Know-Nothings nominated Thomas
Nicholson, of Beaver, for Canal Commissioner. The Democratic candidate for
the same office was Arnold Plumer, of Franklin. The Republicans, by which
name the old Abolitionists and Free-Soilers had christened themselves,
nominated Passmore Williamson, of Philadelphia, whose resistance to the
Fugitive Slave Law had got him into prison, and caused him to be looked
upon as a martyr. The original Natives supported Kimber Cleaver. The
dissatisfied Know-Nothings nominated Peter Martin, of Lancaster, and the
old-fashioned Whigs supported Joseph Henderson, of Washington. Erie County
gave Plumer 1,698 votes; Nicholson, 2,113; Williamson, 471; and Cleaver,
15. The vote of the State was as follows: Plumer, 161,280; Nicholson,
150,359; Williamson, 7,063; Cleaver, 4,041; Martin, 571; Henderson, 2,270
-- Plumer, the Democratic candidate, being elected.

The "railroad war" continued to excite the people of this county
and district, and party lines were not drawn in the choice of local
officers. The candidates were voted for with reference to that issue
entirely. For State Senate, Darwin A. Finney and Charles B. Power, both
Crawford County Whigs, were the candidates. The vote was as follows:

For Congress, in the district composed of Erie and Crawford, the
Democratic candidate was James A. McFadden, of Crawford, and the Fusion
candidate, John Dick, of the same county. The latter was elected by the
following vote:

Dick

McFadden

Erie County

4,235

1,582

Crawford
County

4,709

2,633

---------

---------

Total

8,944

4,215

The Fusion candidate for Additional Law Judge (being the first election
held for that office) was David Derrickson, of Crawford; the Democratic,
Rasselas Brown, of Warren. Below is the vote:

The Democratic National candidates were James Buchanan, Pennsylvania, for
President, and John C. Breckenridge, of Kentucky, for Vice President.
Vincent Phelps, Crawford, was the elector of this district. The Republican
party, which by this time had swallowed up a majority of the opposition to
the Democracy, ran John C. Fremont, of California, for President, and
William L. Dayton, of New Jersey, for Vice President. The American party
supported Millard Fillmore, of New York, for President, and A. J. Donelson,
of Tennessee, for Vice President. A fusion of the two latter elements was
formed, and an electoral ticket nominated, with the understanding that the
votes for each candidate for President and Vice President should be
counted separately. James Skinner, of Erie, was the district nominee for
elector. A portion of Mr. Fillmore's friends would not unite, and ran a
separate electoral ticket, with James Webster, of Fairview, as the
candidate for this district.

The vote of the State was as follows: Buchanan, 230,500; Fusion (Fremont),
147,447; Fusion (Fillmore), 55,891; Straight Fillmore, 26,338.

Below is the vote of the county:

Fusion

Buchanan

Str.
Fillmore

Erie, East
Ward

245

253

20

Erie, West
Ward

333

245

29

Mill Creek

321

268

1

Lockport

180

6

3

Conneaut

282

70

4

Elk Creek

170

92

1

Girard
Borough

36

45

35

Girard
Township

176

65

37

Waterford
Borough

79

42

13

Waterford
Township

243

95

2

Greene

126

83

3

Greenfield

128

41

1

Harbor Creek

242

111

10

Concord

160

74

2

Wayne

185

62

--

Washington

315

89

--

McKean

241

46

3

Summit

78

80

1

Franklin

127

32

2

Fairview

197

93

52

Union

202

35

7

Le Boeuf

136

133

4

Amity

94

65

1

North East
Borough

75

40

1

North East
Township

195

141

2

Edinboro

62

23

4

Springfield

342

38

12

Venango

190

55

2

Wattsburg

30

19

--

---------

---------

-------

Total

5,156

2,584

252

Of the Fusion votes, only 37 were for Fillmore, all the rest being in
favor of Fremont. Buchanan and Breckenridge were elected.

1857Three tickets were in the field for State officers -- Democratic,
Fusion and American. The vote of the State, for Governor, was as follows:

For Congress, Elijah Babbitt, of Erie, ran as the Republican candidate,
and James C. Marshall, of Erie, ran as the Democratic. The vote of the
district was as follows:

Babbitt

Marshall

Erie County

3,220

2,080

Crawford
County

3,140

2,033

---------

---------

Total

6,360

4,113

The Republican candidate for State Senate was Darwin A. Finney, of
Crawford; the Democratic, Benjamin Grant, of Erie -- Finney being
successful, although Mr. Grant had a majority in the county. The vote of
the district was as follows:

The Democrats made no county nominations, and the only Democratic
candidate in the field was Wilson Laird, for Assembly, who received 1,632
votes, and was defeated. The following were the Republican candidates:
Assembly, Jonas Gunnison, Erie, and Henry Teller, Girard; Commissioner,
Hiram Brockway, Springfield; Director of the Poor, William Bracken, Le
Boeuf; Surveyor, William Benson, Waterford; Auditor (three years), John L.
Way, Summit; (two years), H. H. Bassler, Fairview. Joseph Henderson, Mill
Creek, was an Independent candidate for Commissioner, and was elected by
265 majority over Mr. Brockway.